Page 34 of Exes and O's

“This is weirdly comfortable,” he admits, lining his shoulders up with mine.

“See? It’s amazing. Life-changing,” I say, keeping my eyes on the page.

“I wouldn’t go that far.”

“I have some of my most genius thoughts down here.”

“I’m sure you do,” he says, reading over my shoulder. “What’s this book about? Looks like a cowboy romance.”

“You’d be correct.”

“Second-chance?”

“Indeed. And a secret baby too. My favorite.” He chuckles softly, and there’s a beat of silence before I turn onto my side, facing him. “You’re a good friend for coming with me tonight,” I say, staring at his dense lash line with envy. My fatigue is causing me to see two Trevors, which is less disturbing than it should be.

A tiny grin forms. “I’m sure any one of your other friends would have done the same.”

“I don’t know. I don’t have all that many friends. Aside from Crystal and Mel, and realistically, Crystal has to be my friend by default. Sometimes I feel like they’re a bit dismissive of me. When I told them about the ex thing, they laughed it off like it was a joke.” It’s not that I don’t love Crystal and Mel. They’re my best friends. But sometimes I can’t help but feel like a third wheel.

He watches me thoughtfully. “I don’t believe you have a hard time making friends.”

“It’s harder than you’d think, especially at thirty. I have lots of acquaintances. But close friends I could call up last minute and snuggle with? Not so much.”

“Hm. That surprises me. They’re missing out.”

“You think so?”

“I know so.”

One glance at his tiny, stubborn smile and my stomach flutters. My body tenses with new awareness of the press of his shoulder against mine.

My thoughts are spinning, aching to unpack my body’s reaction to his touch, but my mind is pulled elsewhere—to his eyes. The kitchen light illuminates the rich ring of dense forest green, surrounded by another loop of gold in his irises.

Our shared gaze holds for a beat longer than casual before his eyes fall to my mouth. His throat bobs with a slow, almost hesitant swallow, and his jaw goes soft.

Based on my extensive catalog of romance knowledge from books and film, these are signs of an impending kiss.

Trevor Metcalfe wants to kiss me.

chapter twelve

MY MIND ISfuzzy static.

I can neither do nor think of anything but the quickened pace of my breath and the dizzying way Trevor has pinned me in place with just one look.

Instinctively, I sweep my tongue over my bottom lip. Electricity courses between us in wavy cartoon lines. The mental barrier I’ve placed to convince myself he is not my type has vanished into a poof of swirling black and purple smoke.

I don’t know if it’s the liquid courage, the fact that my date with Brandon went sideways, or the steam from the hot tub, but I do the unthinkable. I inch closer, pressing my arm flat against his. Close enough that his face blurs entirely. He doesn’t move, allowing the radiating heat of our labored breath to collide and pass through each other, in and out.

My heart thrashes wildly, and I’m convinced I can hear his too, syncing with mine in a tangled, pulsing rhythm. Encouraged by the comfort of our proximity, I position my head just so, for the perfect alignment of our lips. He holds himself there, tentative, the tip of his nose grazing mine like a whisper.

I ache for him to put me out of my misery, close that millimeter of desperate air, and brush his soft lips against mine.

But instead, his eyes snap open, wide with fear as I approach. He’s on his feet faster than the Flash, dodging me like I’m a toothless sex predator.

He rakes his hair haphazardly, wobbly in his footing. “Uh, I should get to bed. Early shift tomorrow.” His gaze is glued to the floor as he careens down the hallway, bolting for his bedroom.

If I were a normal person, I’d shake the whole thing off and yell a casual “Goodnight,” like absolutely nothing happened. But when I move my lips, nothing comes out. My body is like my college PC laptop I never shut down. Loud. Disruptive fan. Overheating when more than two tabs are open simultaneously. Powering down at the most inconvenient of times.

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